Evolution Statement

In accordance with the AAAs, the AAUP, the NCSE, and other esteemed institutions, the life science faculty at Ventura College recognizes the Theory of Evolution as the unifying principle of the biological sciences. We support the teaching of evolution and other theories in our curriculum in an accurate and thorough manner. Science is a methodology for understanding the natural world through the formulation of testable hypotheses that have the potential to be falsified by experimentation or future observations. Because we respect the process of scientific inquiry, we do not support the teaching of non-scientific ideas such as Intelligent Design as viable alternatives to actual scientific theories; similarly, we do not support the teaching of refuted hypotheses such as vaccine-linked autism, or any other concept that does not meet rigorous scientific standards in a science classroom. We reject the "just a theory" and "teach the controversy" assertions on the matter, since these represent either a misunderstanding or an obfuscation of the scientific meaning of the word theory and therefore undermine the process of strict scientific inquiry. Rather, we strive to uphold true scientific standards by giving our students the tools they need to distinguish between untestable non-scientific ideas, testable scientific hypotheses, and authentic scientific theories.